Introduction
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) plays a pivotal role in students' transition into university-level study, particularly in English-Medium Instruction (EMI) contexts. While receptive skills such as reading, listening, and academic writing typically receive focused instruction, speaking activities — especially group discussions —are often marginalized. English speaking remains one of the most underdeveloped skills in EAP classrooms, especially for first-year students. Common classroom challenges include student silence, code-switching to their native language, and a general lack of confidence or motivation to participate orally.
The Confucian philosopher Xunzi aptly stated, "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." This sentiment echoes principles found in Constructivist Learning Theory (Vygotsky, 1978), which emphasizes the social and participatory nature of learning. Roleplaying aligns with these pedagogical frameworks by immersing students in meaningful, communicative contexts that simulate real-world academic interactions. Grounded in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), roleplay tasks encourage learners to negotiate meaning, adopt appropriate registers, and engage in authentic language use. However, despite its documented pedagogical benefits, many EAP teachers encounter two persistent obstacles: the time-intensive nature of designing relevant scenarios and the difficulty of providing individualized monitoring and feedback during speaking activities.
Integrating AI into role-play pedagogy presents a promising solution to these challenges. By automating aspects of scenario creation, offering real-time interaction, and delivering personalized feedback, AI tools can reduce the instructional burden while enhancing the quality and accessibility of speaking practice. This article introduces a pedagogical cycle that strategically combines AI technologies with roleplaying activities to promote student engagement, maximize classroom efficiency, and improve oral communicative competence in EAP settings.
Roleplaying in EAP Speaking
Roleplaying has long been recognized as an effective instructional strategy in EAP due to its capacity to replicate authentic communicative scenarios, immersing learners in simulated academic interactions such as seminars, tutorials, and collaborative presentations. These simulations encourage students to use language purposefully and appropriately, fostering fluency, vocabulary acquisition, and contextual awareness. (Wang & Hsu, 2018). As their focus shifts from grammatical precision to meaning-making, their spoken output becomes more fluent, coherent, and authentic, and this type of spontaneous, context-driven interaction proves particularly conducive to the development of both fluency and accuracy in spoken discourse (Peterson, 2012; Cobb & Horst, 2011). In addition to its linguistic benefits, roleplaying also fosters creativity and risk-taking within a psychologically safe environment. By assuming a character or professional role, learners create emotional distance, which reduces anxiety and empowers them to experiment with tone, persuasion, and rhetorical strategies. Gay (2018) further emphasizes the transformative potential of roleplaying, noting its ability to reshape classroom dynamics, promote learner autonomy, and encourage perspective-taking. These affective benefits are significant in EAP contexts, where students often face high expectations and pressure to perform in front of peers. Engagement research thus reinforces the pedagogical value of roleplay while underscoring the importance of learner-centered approaches that prioritize autonomy, participation, and enjoyment.
Despite the benefits of roleplaying, its practical implementation remains a challenge. Scenario design is time-consuming, particularly when tailoring activities to curricular goals or specific student needs (Kerr, 2020). Developing and facilitating roleplays frequently may prove unsustainable for teachers managing large cohorts. Additionally, the real-time nature of speaking tasks limits opportunities for individualized monitoring and feedback. It is often difficult for teachers to observe all the pairs or groups simultaneously, let alone provide timely and constructive feedback during or after the activity. These logistical issues contribute to the underutilization or inconsistent application of roleplay in EAP classrooms.
A Practical Framework: AI + Roleplay Cycle
Emerging technologies offer promising solutions to the aforementioned challenges. In particular, AI-enhanced tools can support the design, facilitation, and assessment of roleplay activities. Chatbots, virtual dialogue partners, and simulation-based platforms allow learners to engage in personalized, context-rich conversations outside class time (Godwin-Jones, 2021). Applications such as Doubao, Replika or Mondly provide low-pressure environments for autonomous speaking practice, while gamified tools such as Kahoot and Classcraft, when adapted for roleplay scenarios, enhance motivation through narrative, challenge, and collaboration (Rachels & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2018). These technologies align with contemporary emphases on learner autonomy, intrinsic motivation, and interactive learning, offering scalable, flexible solutions for improving speaking skills in EAP settings.
To maximize the effectiveness of both roleplaying and AI tools, the AI + Roleplay Cycle can be integrated into EAP speaking practice. This approach enables structured, repeatable, and scaffolded speaking opportunities. Each stage of the Cycle supports student learning while reducing preparation and feedback pressure on teachers. The following AI + Roleplay Cycle provides a structured framework for incorporating AI tools into the learning process:
1. AI-Assisted Scenario Development
AI can enhance the design and implementation of role-play scenarios in academic speaking activities by automating the creation of diverse, contextually relevant situations tailored to specific learning objectives and student proficiency levels. For example, XIPU AI can generate detailed personas and dialogues for various academic contexts, such as seminar discussions or conference presentations, streamlining the scenario creation process and ensuring realistic, engaging content. For B1-B2 level students, it can generate scenarios that involve moderate complexity in language use, ensuring that the tasks are appropriately challenging yet achievable. Furthermore, AI can provide context by supplying background information pertinent to each role and suggest academic phrases relevant to the scenario, aiding students in their preparation and execution of the role-play. This approach not only saves time but also fosters a more effective and student-centered learning environment.
Here is an AI-generated example of roleplaying environmental pollution for groups of five students in an EAP class. This role-play activity not only deepens students’ understanding of environmental pollution but also cultivates critical thinking, effective communication, and the ability to appreciate and integrate multiple perspectives in problem-solving.
Context:
The fictional town of Riverdale is facing a serious pollution problem. The river running through the town is heavily polluted due to nearby factories, littering, and agricultural runoff. The town council is holding an emergency public debate to decide how to tackle the crisis. Each group of five will act as different stakeholders with their own interests.
Roles:
Defends the company’s right to produce goods but promises to explore greener solutions — if affordable.
Argues passionately for immediate action, stricter laws, and more community involvement to save the ecosystem.
Wants clean water for crops but is concerned about the cost of changing farming practices.
Must balance economic growth, public health, and the town’s reputation — the final decision-maker.
Worried about the health of children and the community, pushing for fast solutions and public education.
2. Student Preparation with AI
Students engage with AI tools to brainstorm ideas, develop arguments, and familiarize themselves with pertinent vocabulary and expressions related to their assigned roles. AI tools facilitate brainstorming sessions, helping students generate ideas and organize their thoughts effectively. For instance, platforms such as Ideamap analyze the input to provide inspiration, detect topics, and visualize ideas, aiding students in structuring their role-play content coherently. Additionally, AI applications supply contextual information relevant to specific role-play scenarios, enriching students’ understanding and preparation. They suggest academic phrases and terminology pertinent to the scenario, enhancing the authenticity and sophistication of students’ language use during role-plays. By integrating AI into the preparation phase, students can develop a more nuanced understanding of their roles, expand their vocabulary, and approach role-play activities with increased confidence and competence.
In the aforementioned scenario of roleplaying environmental pollution, students can use AI to prepare their ideas and language effectively. For example, students roleplaying the factory owner can first ask AI to explain the business challenges of facing environmental accusations, such as the high cost of eco-friendly equipment and the risk of job losses, to fully understand their role. Next, if students have no idea, they could brainstorm possible arguments to defend the factory, focusing on protecting jobs and highlighting the company’s contributions to the local economy. After that, students could ask AI for realistic solutions that balance reducing pollution with financial stability, helping them prepare practical suggestions for the discussion. To strengthen their language, they can also collect useful formal phrases for business negotiations, especially expressions for defending a position and proposing compromises. Finally, students can organize their ideas into clear, strong key points with AI’s help, so they are ready to present structured arguments during the roleplay.
However, when using AI to prepare for roleplay activities, it is essential that students prioritize their own critical thinking by first analyzing the scenario and independently generating ideas, arguments, and possible solutions. This process encourages students to engage deeply with the task and develop their reasoning skills, rather than completely depending on external assistance. Once initial ideas have been formed, AI can be used as a supplementary tool to expand perspectives, suggest alternative approaches, or introduce useful language. However, students must apply critical thinking when evaluating AI-generated suggestions, questioning their relevance, accuracy, and suitability for the role. Finally, students should rephrase and adapt this material in their own words to ensure genuine understanding and to strengthen their ability to communicate authentically. By following this approach, students can use AI as a resource for language support while remaining active, independent thinkers throughout the preparation process.
3. In-Class Roleplay Implementation
In the classroom, students engage in role-play activities by enacting prepared scenarios that emphasize spontaneous interaction, fluency, and the practical application of academic speaking conventions. These performances are typically conducted in pairs or small groups, fostering a dynamic and collaborative learning environment where students negotiate meaning, manage turn-taking, and adjust their language in real-time. For example, in a role-play scenario where students simulate a job interview, one student assumes the role of the interviewer, and the other acts as the candidate. This exercise allows students to practice formal language, question-and-answer formats, and professional etiquette, thereby enhancing their readiness for real-life interactions.
Taking the example of roleplaying environmental pollution again. The procedure can go like this:
- Preparation: Assign AI-generated role cards to students and provide them with relevant background information on pollution and its environmental effects. Encourage them to research their assigned perspectives to contribute meaningfully to the discussion.
Role card example:
- Discussion: The group holds a structured town hall meeting. Each person speaks for about 2 minutes, followed by open discussion. The Mayor moderates and announces a plan based on the discussion. To make it more engaging, awards such as Best Solution, Best Negotiator, Most Creative Solution, or Best Environmental Advocate could be given.
- Debriefing (optional): Concludes with a reflective session where students discuss the insights gained, challenges faced during the discussion, and potential real-world applications of the solutions proposed.
4. Teacher Feedback
Following roleplay performances, teachers facilitate feedback sessions that focus on content accuracy, language use, and communicative effectiveness. Given the impracticality of monitoring every conversation in larger classes, teachers often adopt a facilitator role, emphasizing the learning process over perfection, with a focus on fluency, spontaneity, and communication strategies. Constructive feedback highlights successful elements and addresses areas needing improvement, encouraging students to critically assess their speaking abilities and identify strategies for future enhancement. To further enrich this stage, methods such as recording conversations or assigning rotating student observers can be incorporated, extending the benefits beyond what a single instructor can manage.
5. AI Feedback
Integrating AI into classroom role-playing activities can significantly enhance the feedback process, offering timely and personalized evaluations of student performance. AI platforms can offer insights into various aspects of speaking proficiency, such as pronunciation, intonation, fluency, and grammatical accuracy. By comparing AI-generated feedback with teacher feedback, students gain a comprehensive understanding of their performance, benefiting from multiple perspectives. For example, in a real-time conversation with Doubao, feedback on one speaker’s pronunciation goes like this: “Your pronunciation is quite good overall. (Smiling encouragingly) You pronounced most of the words clearly. However, just a little tip, when you said ‘polluted’, it could be a bit more distinct, maybe stress the second syllable a little more. Other than that, great job!”
For platforms lacking real-time verbal interaction, AI-driven feedback can be effectively implemented through a structured process encompassing recording sessions, transcription and analysis, and the generation of feedback reports. Firstly, students capture audio recordings of their role-play performances using recording software, ensuring high-quality audio to facilitate accurate analysis. Subsequently, AI-powered transcription tools, such as Otter AI, Krisp, Notta and Tencent Meeting, can be employed to convert these recordings into text, providing automatic and precise transcriptions. Once transcribed, AI analysis tools assess key performance indicators, including fluency, coherence, appropriate terminology usage, and adherence to communicative conventions, thereby identifying patterns in language use and pinpointing areas where students excel or require improvement. Following this analysis, AI applications can assist students by generating comprehensive feedback reports that highlight students’ strengths and areas needing enhancement, often incorporating specific examples from the performances to offer concrete insights into their communicative effectiveness. By systematically implementing this triadic approach, students can receive personalized, detailed, and actionable feedback, thereby enhancing their learning experiences and communicative competencies. If possible, a university platform could be developed for students to use so that teachers could track students’ performance, identify difficulties and provide targeted feedback.
6. Revised Roleplay and Reflection
Incorporating feedback from both teachers and AI analyses, students revise and reenact the roleplay scenarios. This can be done within the same groups, with different students, or with AI. This iterative process allows for the consolidation of improvements and the reinforcement of effective speaking strategies. Subsequent reflection activities encourage students to evaluate their progress, set personal learning objectives, and develop a metacognitive awareness of their speaking skills. To further help students with reflection and improvement, a self-reflection journal could be provided, focusing on communication strategies and language use. One possible version of reflection can be seen in the Appendices.
How AI + Roleplay Cycle Supports Teachers and Students
The AI+Roleplay Cycle effectively addresses pedagogical and logistical challenges within EAP speaking instruction by supporting both students and teachers. For students, it offers expanded opportunities to engage in spoken interaction, experiment with language use, and develop fluency. The AI interlocutor provides structured, adaptive support without the pressure of peer or teacher judgment, allowing learners to rehearse and refine their speaking skills in a low-stress, self-paced environment. At the same time, the Cycle fosters learner autonomy by encouraging students to take initiative, engage actively with available technologies, and assume responsibility for their language development. Over time, this nurtures not only speaking confidence but also key communicative competencies such as critical thinking, turn-taking, active listening, and argumentation—skills essential for academic success in multilingual university contexts.
For instructors, the Cycle offers significant practical advantages. It reduces the burden of designing new roleplay scenarios for each session, as AI tools can dynamically generate relevant content to suit different learning goals. Additionally, it alleviates the need for detailed, individualized feedback, as students can independently review conversation transcripts and use AI-supported analysis to monitor and track their progress. This approach not only promotes a more sustainable teaching workflow, especially in large or mixed-ability classes, but also allows teachers to focus their attention on higher-order facilitation, such as guiding reflection and supporting the transfer of speaking skills to real academic tasks.
Tips for Teachers
“Your brain is the chef; AI is just the recipe book.” Encourage students to use AI as a practice tool, not a shortcut. Emphasize that their learning comes from the process of interaction, not from copying answers. Promote a growth mindset around mistakes and self-reflection.
Teachers start small by trialing one roleplay activity. Choose a common academic situation and create a simple prompt for students to use with AI. For instance: "Pretend you are a professor. Ask me questions about my group project on climate change."
Model the process in class before assigning it for independent practice. Show students how to use AI prompts effectively, save and reflect on their transcripts, and extract helpful vocabulary or phrases.
Build a bank of reusable roleplay scenarios. Over time, this collection can cover various academic contexts and help students transfer their language skills to different settings.
Provide structure for reflection. Ask students to identify one expression they used successfully, one they would like to improve, and one new phrase they learned from the AI interaction.
Conclusion
Combining roleplaying with AI creates a flexible and effective model for enhancing speaking skills in EAP classrooms. This approach strikes a balance between communicative authenticity and the practical constraints of classroom instruction. Teachers can facilitate meaningful speaking practice without the continuous burden of designing new scenarios or providing extensive individual feedback. Simultaneously, students benefit from increased speaking opportunities, greater confidence, and a stronger sense of ownership over their learning process. Importantly, AI does not replace the role of the teacher — it complements and enhances it. When thoughtfully integrated into roleplaying tasks, AI enables teachers to design more prosperous, dynamic and communicative experiences. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of this integration depends on careful task design, appropriate scaffolding, and critical pedagogical engagement. Teachers should not only instruct students in how to use AI tools but also encourage them to question, learn from, and ultimately move beyond reliance on these technologies. As language education continues to evolve, AI-supported roleplay offers a powerful opportunity to transform how learners engage with language, with others, and with their own communicative identities.
Reference List
Cobb, T. and Horst, M., 2011. Does word coach coach words? CALICO Journal, 28(3), pp.639-661.
Gay, G., 2018. Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Godwin-Jones, R., 2021. Emerging technologies: AI and language learning: A nexus waiting to happen? Language Learning & Technology, 25(1), pp.10-22. Available at: https://doi.org/10.10125/44716 [Accessed 14 March 2025].
Kerr, P., 2020. The challenges of roleplaying in EAP classes. ELT Journal, 74(4), pp.483-492.
Peterson, M., 2012. Language learner interaction in a virtual world: The role of MMORPGs. ReCALL, 24(1), pp.30-47.
Rachels, J.R. and Rockinson-Szapkiw, A.J., 2018. The effects of a mobile gamification app on elementary students’ Spanish achievement and self-efficacy. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 31(1-2), pp.72-89. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2017.1382536 [Accessed 14 March 2025].
Vygotsky, L.S., 1978. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Appendices
Roleplaying Self-Reflection Journal
Date: _____________________
Roleplay Activity Title: _____________________
- What was the scenario of the roleplay?
(e.g., a business meeting, a university discussion, a problem-solving situation)
- Who did you play, and what was your goal?
(e.g., an advisor, a student, a manager, a customer)
- List 3–5 context-specific phrases you used or heard.
- How well did you communicate your ideas?
- Very Confident
- Confident
- Somewhat Confident
- Not Confident
- What was difficult during the roleplay (e.g., vocabulary, fluency, staying in character)?
- What feedback did you get from peers, your tutor and AI?
- What will you try to improve in the next roleplay?
- Use more academic vocabulary
- Speak more fluently
- Stay more in character
- Ask more questions
- Improve pronunciation
- Other: ___________________________
